Doing Better

May 14, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

Brian drove out to the barn first thing this morning. He took Bear's temperature and was happy to discover it was back down to normal. He also checked on new girl's butt, and although he didn't get super close to her, he could tell it had stayed closed in the night. Two very good things. This afternoon I headed out for another check up. I took Bear's temperature and it was again normal. He also just seemed a whole lot more like himself. Then I set out to catch our girl. She's on oral antibiotics for a week while the tush heals. In the herd, she has clearly moved up in the 48 hours since she arrived. She has collected a little entourage. All the sorrel horses in the herd appear to have fallen in love with her. That makes one large quarter horse who does not belong to us, one medium sized quarter horse who does not belong to us, and one tiny red pony who does not belong to us. ...

A Good Start to a Long, Long Day

Robin

May 13, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We had quite the barn Sunday. It panned out in three segments: Ride One, Ride Two, and Unplanned Vet Call. And I'm afraid this post is going to end up rather long.

Ride One

We were excited to get out to the barn today and see how our new girl is taking to her new environment. (We're still on the fence about a name, so forgive the awkwardness of my attempts to write about her.) The barn's owner was out in the pasture doing some minor fence repairs when we arrived, and she was near him, watching with curiosity. So we thought we might be able to walk right up to her. I approached, and she let me near, but then walked on. I put a little pressure on her as she departed. She trotted off a few steps, then turned to look at me. I looked away and backed off a step. She looked away, I put pressure back on, etc. It only took maybe two minutes before she let me approach her and slip th...

Windy Arrival

Robin

May 12, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We had crazy winds today. Usually we are pretty resilient when it comes to wind, so we didn't think a whole lot of it, heading out. Our new girl was slated to arrive at 3:00, so we got to the barn early to ride a couple of our guys beforehand. I rode Steen, Brian rode Laredo. We started out on the strip, but the wind was just insane. Not only was it hitting us in these crazy gusts, it was cold. Steen was handling it fine, other than being slightly more inclined to look around than usual, but I was not enjoying myself. It was also clearly a little bit of a challenge for Laredo. He kept trying to angle himself to get out of the wind. Finally we gave up and went inside. Brian got a text saying the new horse would be about 20 minutes late, so we just prolonged our ride. Steen was pretty on it. We worked on departures into different gaits from standing. We are working on getting the ...

It’s a Girl!

Robin

May 11, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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I haven't owned a mare since I had my very first horse, and in the 15 years since I sold her I've actually never had the opportunity to really get to know another mare at all (with the exception of the small amount of work we did with Cal when we leased her for Brian a few years ago). There is a definite prejudice against mares in the horse world, and most people who want a sane, quiet horse will choose a gelding. I wouldn't say I'm anti-mare at all, it's just when we've been horse shopping the last several times our favorite horses have been geldings. My first mare was an incredible horse. She babysat me and took care of me in a way I completely did not appreciate at the time. Brian and I decided a few weeks ago that we'd like to get a 4th horse for the summer. Our plan is to pick up something a bit rough around the edges, ride it a ton and find it a new home in the fall. If th...

The Comfort Zone Wars

Robin

May 7, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We rode on the strip today. My plan was to continue to work on Steen's dislike of being out of his strip comfort zone bubble. My plan for the day was to do all of our easy work and all of our resting down the strip well past where he prefers to be, and all of our more demanding work and no resting up top. I mostly managed to stick with this plan. Lately Steen's comfort zone issue has changed slightly in that he doesn't seem to mind going off down the strip at first. We actually get some good work done initially. Then it's like he decides he's done being down there, and his usual problems surface. So we started out with some nice figure-eights and the walk and trot. Then we had a little rest and then he just wanted to go back to the top of the strip. Every time I let him walk in that direction, he'd put more energy into his steps and every time we bent away from home, his shoulde...

New Territory

Robin

May 5, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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We got a bunch of rain in the night, so today the ground was pretty soggy everywhere we ride, but the sun was up and shining and we didn't want to stay inside. We decided to hit the trails. I rode Steen and Brian rode Bear. We headed South and East after leaving the barn. Everything was wetter out and about than we were expecting, so we were confined to the gravel roads, which meant walking only. We finally made it to a b-road, and that was ultra wet, so while we usually trot along there, we walked there as well.

We looped back to the grassy, tree-lined lane, which was also wet, and decided to do some loops around the fields. I haven't ridden out in this area with the crops down before, and it makes for ...

Saturday Swap

Robin

May 5, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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It rained all day Friday, so we didn't ride. We were supposed to get more rain today, but it was dry in the morning. We decided to head to the barn before things could get worse. The bales are a little low, and we found the herd rather chilly and unhappy. I planned to bring Steen inside to give him some chopped hay, so went out with two halters. Steen and Bear both came to the gate when they saw us. Laredo was way, way out in the second pasture. I could just see him by the far fence, engaged in a game with another horse that involved head-tossing and rearing. I figured he'd never notice us from that distance. So I haltered Steen and handed him to Brian. When the bales are low, certain herd members have a bit of a tendency to mob the gate and try to exit with you when you try to leave with your horses. Since Brian was trying to leave with two horses, I spent a minute encouraging ...

The Never-Ending Winter

Robin

May 3, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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This afternoon found me racing a storm to the barn. Tempts were plummeting, and the clouds were gathering and darkening in my rearview mirror. By the time I parked my car, sleet was starting to spit and the wind carried an edge.

I hauled three blankets and two halters to the airlock. I left the blankets there. The herd was wound up. I had to move the pushy herd members off the gate. Once I had some space around me, both Steen and Laredo walked up to me, shivering in their thin coats and waiting a little impatiently for me to get their halters on.

I took the two of them into the airlock and unzipped one of the blanket bags. It was Laredo's, so I unclipped the rope from Steen's halter and unpacked the blanket the rest of the way. Steen stood waiting until I lifted the blanket off the ground. It got caught by this huge gust of wind and unfurled right towards Steen l...

A Long One

Robin

May 1, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Brian wanted to check in with Bear today, since he seemed a little sore during our last ride. So we decided I would ride Steen and Brian would ride Bear first and Laredo second, so we brought them all in from the pasture to get them ready to go. I groomed one side of Laredo and Brian groomed the other, sometimes at the same time. It wasn't that long ago that he couldn't tolerate being touched by more than one person at once. Now he loves the extra rubs. We left Laredo in the side pen and went to the strip. Brian was a little ahead of me and went outside, leaving the gates open. We had the place to ourselves, so just for kicks I mounted next to our locker and rode Steen into the indoor arena, then out of it, and onto the strip. Steen was in a mellow mood, and my primary objective for the day was to continue to battle our comfort zone bubble. It is interesting that Steen has this ...

Birthday Season

Robin

May 1, 2013

Novels for Horse-Lovers

The Tipped Z Ranch books feature fictional stories but real horsemanship.

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Like most horses, all of our guys were born in the late spring/early summer. Bear's birthday is the earliest, and today he turned 18. He does pretty darn well for his age. Other than being slightly more prone to getting stiff and sore than our other two, he really doesn't seem like he's in his late teens. It was hot today, so Brian wasn't going to wear his chinks. He offered to loan them to me. I've been curious to see how they feel. They are custom made for him, so aren't an ideal fit on me, but luckily with chinks that's not a huge deal. It was windy as well as hot, and walking out into the pasture the fringe was blowing around my legs. Laredo was way off in the distance, but after a detour around the windblock (following Steen) he came to me. So that's good. It appears his little bout of not being inclined to come is behind us.

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